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We can all relate to the challenge: as we grow older, making time for fitness becomes more difficult, and those extensive gym sessions we managed in our youth seem less attainable. The encouraging news is that you don’t need to dedicate endless hours at the gym to achieve significant fitness improvements after turning 50.
I’m Dr. John Rusin, a globally recognized strength coach and expert in injury prevention, with nearly twenty years of experience in elite training and advanced degrees in exercise science and physical therapy. I have crafted performance, recovery, and aesthetics programs for top-level athletes, including MLB All-Stars, NFL All-Pros, Olympic champions, and world-record-holding powerlifters. Listed as a Top 50 Health & Fitness Expert by Men’s Health magazine, I have tailored methods that are successful in high-level sports specifically for individuals over 50. Here are five impactful exercises that will provide better outcomes than the extended workouts you might be dreading.
Why shorter workouts work better for your body after 50
For those over 50, achieving quality workouts that are both consistent and focused is key. For my clients in this age group, sessions should not exceed an hour, ideally around 45 minutes. Keeping workouts shorter holds clients’ attention, ensures active movement, and minimizes distractions like phone use or socializing. This concept is known as training density—the amount of work accomplished per unit of time. A workout with higher density can be completed in a shorter period when designed properly, allowing for the same amount of quality exercise as a longer session, all without the wasted time.
Time is the number one reason why people skip workouts or don’t start altogether. So, having a more reasonable time commitment with greater concentration is almost always superior because it allows for more lifestyle flexibility and practicality. Momentum building happens when sessions are completed, and a 45-minute session 2-3 times per week can achieve that and more. Because let’s be honest, who has multiple hours per day to train?! 20-somethings, that’s who.
5 Quick Exercises That Transform Your Body After 50
Trap Bar Deadlifts
The trap bar deadlift represents the strongest and safest of all deadlift variations. It trains the maximum amount of muscle mass and allows for spine-friendly positions with the body inside the bar.
This movement is usually skipped over. And that’s a problem, as deadlifts are the #1 training option for full body strength. We just need to train them smarter, using the unique biomechanical properties of the trap bar (load over the center of mass), getting more quads, glutes, and lower back into the mix with spine-sparing properties.
Common mistake to avoid: Try not to squat the deadlift. Push the hips back, utilize a hip hinge motion.
Goblet Squats
Goblet squats place a dumbbell or kettlebell in the front racked position in front of the chest to load the squat pattern. This allows for a counterbalance of load with the movement, and also loads the legs in advantageous positions to maintain great upright posture, deep knee bend, and a full squat range of motion.
The full-body nature of the squat pattern involves holding the weight actively in front of you. A little load goes a long way when everything, including the upper back and shoulders, is working.
Common mistake to avoid: Not being active with the shoulders, hands, and arms bracing. You must actively engage and stabilize in order to get the most out of your goblet squat performance.
Bulgarian Split Squats
Bulgarian split squats, also known as rear foot elevated split squats, are the king of all single-leg lower-body directed movements. It works the front leg hard from a targeting perspective, training the quads, glutes, and hamstrings in one exercise. It also works on mobility, stability, and balance throughout.
The ability to be strong and stable in the most functional single-leg stance possible. We spend 80% of our movement lives in asymmetrical single-leg stances, so we need to train them more! It’s also very spine-friendly.
Common mistake to avoid: Avoid lessening the range of motion for more load. Or bouncing around in the reps. Stay controlled, through a full range of motion with hip and knee flexion, and maintain strong balance and control using core bracing.
Face Pulls
The face pull is like a daily multivitamin for shoulder health. It trains the upper back to reverse poor daily postures, working actively into extension, external rotation, and retraction of the shoulder blade. Grab a rope overhand and pull back towards your fac,e driving the elbows backwards and letting the hands and shoulders rotate naturally.
This is the postural health rebuilder. And today, we need that more than ever before with all our handheld technology for work and play.
Common mistake to avoid: Allow the hands to rotate naturally, using a double overhand grip.
Single Arm Rows
Using a single dumbbell, hinge your hips over with a staggered stance, supporting your opposite arm on a bench or rack. Grab the dumbbell out of this position and row back to the hip, creating a full range of motion with slight rotation of the upper back. Flex the top of the rep hard, contracting the upper back and lats, and lower more slowl,y keeping tension.
This exercise targets the maximum amount of muscle in the upper back and lats, while also training one side of the body at a time for symmetry. We can move significant weights, unlock the upper back for improved mobility, and build muscle where we need it, the back side of the body that supports us as we age.
Common mistake to avoid: Avoid cheating with momentum, hoisting the weight with the hips or lower back. And also avoid partial ranges of motion where we don’t get all the way up and down that is the gold of the movement with upper back recruitment.
Looking for more easy ways to lose fat? Here’s How Long Your Walking Workout Should Be To Shrink Belly Fat.
Dr. John Rusin, DPT, CSCS, CISSN, PPSC
